Via ferrata is a European mountain sport in which people ascend vertical rock faces equipped with fixed cables, ladders, bolt anchors and bridges. While the sport—which translates to “iron way” in Italian—has been popular in Europe for decades, it is just now gaining steam in the United States, notably in Ogden, where world-famous climber Jeff Lowe has opened three via ferrata routes in Waterfall Canyon.

Here are a couple pics…

(Watch for the full story in the New York Times’ Escapes section next month.)